Wednesday, September 20, 2017

I just renewed and enlarged my commitment for three years. Once you've looked at/tried all the competing products, including new-fangled "end-point security agents" and other such falderol and balderdash - in the end - there can be only one. Kaspersky is easily the best. Accept no substitutes!

strategic-culture | On
September 18, the US Senate voted to ban the use of products from the
Moscow-based cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab by the federal
government, citing national security risk. The vote was included as an
amendment to an annual defense policy spending bill approved by the
Senate on the same day. The measure pushed forward by New Hampshire
Democrat Jeanne Shaheen has strong support in the House of
Representatives, which also must vote on a defense spending bill. The
legislation bars the use of Kaspersky Lab software in government
civilian and military agencies.

On September 13, a binding directive issued
by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, ordered federal
agencies to remove Kaspersky Lab products from government computers over
concerns the Russia-based cybersecurity software company might be
vulnerable to Russian government influence. All federal departments and
agencies were given 30 days to identify any Kaspersky products in use on
their networks. The departments have another 60 days to begin removal
of the software. The statement says, «The department is concerned about
the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence
and other government agencies, and requirements under Russian law that
allow Russian intelligence agencies to request or compel assistance from
Kaspersky and to intercept communications transiting Russian networks».
The Russian law does not mention American networks, nevertheless it is
used as a pretext to explain the concern.

Similar bans against US government use of Kaspersky products have been suggested before. In 2015, Bloomberg Newsreported that the company has «close ties to Russian spies».

According toUS News,
scrutiny of the company mounted in 2017, fueled by U.S. intelligence
assessments and high-profile federal investigations of Russian
interference in the 2016 election. This summer, the General Service
Administration, which oversees purchasing by the federal government,
removed Kaspersky from its list of approved vendors. In June, a proposal prohibiting
the US military from using the company's products was reportedly
included in the Senate's draft of the Department of Defense's budget
rules. US intelligence leaders said earlier this year that Kaspersky Lab
was already generally not allowed on military networks.